Werewolves, Wizards, and Durmstrang Oh My
by onlymystory
Summary: Stiles, Lydia, Jackson, and Danny are Ravenclaws and best friends. But after the Final Battle of Hogwarts, they need a school to return to. Durmstrang is accepting new students but the school that studies the dark arts and allows werewolf and vampire students has a lot of secrets. Stiles is more involved in those secrets than even he realizes & he's falling in love with a werewolf.
1. Chapter 1

So I've wanted to write a Harry Potter AU for Teen Wolf for a while but it's kind of exhausting to think about all the details there are to get right from the Harry Potter world. Then I remembered that there are other wizarding schools and voila!  
I'm playing it fast and loose with canon so this is very much AU, just so y'all know.  
Any primary HP fans reading, this is a Teen Wolf central story. Figured I'd give fair warning.

Stiles Stilinski was a too smart for his age fourth year when The Final Battle of Hogwarts took place. He and his best friend Lydia were Ravenclaws, so of course they were smart, but they were often overlooked in favor of Gryffindor legend Hermione Granger.

This didn't really bother Lydia or Stiles as much as their two other friends, Jackson and Danny seemed to think it should.

Stiles was just as smart as Hermione, he knew this because Danny had charmed himself into as fly once and read everyone's files. Lydia was smarter, but that's just how Lydia was. Danny and Jackson were average smart for Ravenclaw, which of course meant that they were smarter than almost everyone who wasn't in their house, and kept their marks up enough to not be noticed in their own.

Sometimes Jackson would complain about how Lydia would master a potion that the Granger girl hadn't managed until 5th year, or how Stiles was clearly better at defensive spells. Jackson was competitive, and if he couldn't be the best, he wanted people to acknowledge that his friends were.

Lydia could always talk Jackson down from going to yell at a teacher, while Stiles and Danny would throw chocolate frogs at each other and laugh at their friends.

He never minded that the teachers didn't really pay attention to him and neither did Lydia. Being the class brain meant too much pressure and not enough freedom. Stiles liked to learn as much as he could about all sorts of topics and Lydia liked to experiment. Sometimes Stiles actually felt bad for Hermione, since as soon as she'd fallen in with Potter and Weasley, any chance she had of being a traditional brain went away. The girl's intelligence spent a lot of time being used to fight Voldemort.

Stiles didn't feel bad very often though. The way he figured it, people made choices and then you lived with him. He wanted to hang out with his friends, play some Quidditch, and learn as much as he could before becoming an Auror. Hermione clearly wanted to save the world. To each his own.

The point of all this was that Stiles liked his life. He was a good wizard who didn't piss people off and kept his marks up and as a result got to do what he wanted by slipping under the radar. In fact, the most anyone but his best friends seemed to know about him was that he liked to talk, especially about Muggle pop culture.

When Death Eaters started taking over and teaching classes, Stiles and his friends stayed under the radar then too. They never helped the Death Eaters, after all none of them were Slytherins and they still had a sense of right and wrong. It was more fun to learn the darker spells in class, then go back to their house and learn how to counter them or even better, how to deconstruct the spells and twist them to their own benefit.

That was part of the reason Lydia and Stiles always needed Danny and Jackson. Danny's skills would be called hacking in the Muggle world but at Hogwarts he used them to figure out the core of a spell. What made each element work and where did it originate were the kind of things that Danny got better than anyone. Danny would find the pieces and then Lydia would come up with ideas for how to change a spell, sometimes a little bit and sometimes a lot. Stiles would do the research, even into obscure works to figure out possibilities. And then Jackson would test them out. Jackson was the best at actually doing a spell. That competitive nature again.

All in all, they were a good team. Even if they were all just a little too smart for their age.

So when The Great Battle happened, the four of them were there. They fought a little more behind the scenes, taking out Death Eaters in darker areas of the halls and generally staying out of sight.

Fame was all well and good if you were prepared for what came with it. Stiles didn't want notoriety. Lydia, Jackson, and Danny didn't either. So they fought and they hugged each other in the end, happy they'd all made it out alive, and they slipped away in the celebration.

It was a month later, as they all met for tea in London, that Danny brought up a new problem.

"Hogwarts won't be open again for another year," said Danny as he sipped his tea. He had already turned 15 and was starting to look a little bit older.

"Is that the official word from the Ministry?" asked Stiles, absentmindedly dumping sugar in his own cup. He blinked gratefully at Jackson when the teen took the sugar away. Stiles had a tendency to make things way too sweet.

Danny grinned. "It will be in another three weeks when they make the announcement."

"What does that mean for the students?" questioned Lydia, as always, primarily concerned for their studies.

Stiles hadn't really thought about that. No one was paying much attention to students practicing magic at home with all the chaos, so he hadn't felt much different than being at school.

"They plan on telling students to either enroll in other wizarding schools or employ a tutor to keep practical knowledge up to snuff and then start back at Hogwarts after this year," answered Danny.

"So everyone gets held back?" Jackson was clearly indignant about this. Ravenclaws did not get held back. Jackson did not get held back.

Lydia frowned at that idea.

Stiles shoved the rest of his scone at her to distract Lydia. While she picked at it, he pondered out loud. "They'll probably do some sort of placement test for everyone to see if they can move on to the next year with intensive training or if they are better off staying in the previous year. It makes sense really, surely the Ministry knows kids are practicing spells. This way they don't piss off parents too much. I'm guessing they've got a list of approved tutors."

Danny nodded at that one. "Yep. And it will be announced that if a student applies to another school and meets that school's qualifications, the school will accept them."

"So which one are we choosing?" asked Jackson around a mouthful of chocolate croissant. At the looks from the others, he swallowed quickly. "What? We all know we aren't going to wait around for Hogwarts to open back up. Lydia will go crazy if she can't get her hands on potions ingredients and Stiles can't handle being away from books for that long."

If anyone else had said it, Stiles would have very maturely stuck his tongue out at them. But he knew that Jackson was mostly being honest. None of them had it in their nature to be away from a learning environment for too long.

"Beauxbatons is obviously out," said Lydia. "I don't want to live in France and they're far too concerned with aesthetics."

"What about the American schools?" offered Danny, to which Jackson wrinkled his nose.

They debated a few others for a while until Stiles cut them off when he stood to go refill their tea. "I don't know why we're arguing. You all know we're going to pick Durmstrang."

"You don't actually know that Stiles," huffed Lydia. "Besides, Durmstrang teaches the Dark Arts."

"So? We were learning the Dark Arts and learning how not to let them take control. Durmstrang is the only school that has information and teachers with knowledge that we don't have," said Stiles. "Of course we're going to go there."

He walked away as they started arguing about it, knowing his friends would come to the same conclusion he did. When Stiles walked back to the table, the only one not completely in favor of the idea was Danny. He looked almost sold though, so Stiles pulled out his trump card.

"You know there are werewolves at Durmstrang, right? It's a mixed race school."

And with that, Danny was on board. He had a thing for werewolves. Ever since first year when he'd snuck off during the Triwizard dance and met some curly haired older kid named Isaac from Durmstrang. The kid was a bitten werewolf, courtesy of a crazy father who'd ended up being killed when the kid was eight. Danny had talked to Isaac about werewolves for hours, so excited to learn. And then Isaac had leaned forward and kissed Danny.

They all knew now that it wasn't much of anything. A tiny peck between an eleven year old and thirteen year old who didn't really know what crushes were, let alone boyfriends. But Danny hadn't stopped crushing on Isaac ever since. It got to the point where everyone got him werewolf stuff for Christmas and his birthday, just to see Danny smile about it.

Isaac would obviously be gone from the school, having been a young for his age 4th year when they were all first years, but anything werewolf would appeal to Danny.

"Fine," said the boy now, trying to hide his smile. "We'll go to Durmstrang."

"Awesome," cheered Stiles, fist bumping a little. "Danny can you figure out what requirements the school needs from us so we can get everything together?"

Danny nodded. "It'll take me a couple days."

"That's fine," said Lydia. "Mum's taking me shopping in Milan anyway, I need new clothes. We can meet back up on Saturday."

Jackson and Stiles agreed to that, with Stiles figuring he could get in some quality time with his dad, and explain why Durmstrang was a good choice. Not that his dad would mind. Stiles' mother had gone to Durmstrang and Stiles figured his dad would be happy to see Stiles following in his mom's footsteps, even after her death.

The rest of the afternoon was spent dating the benefits of learning a charm to turn things into animate objects or inanimate objects, and how to turn oneself back without a wand. If Stiles closed his eyes and listened to his friends and the noises of the crowd, it was almost like he was back in school.

The idea of Durmstrang made him happy because Stiles missed school.

Stiles wouldn't get a chance to talk to his dad for a good three days, the morning of the day he was supposed to meet his friends. John Stilinski's job was a Muggle liason. A lot of wizards thought that only wizards held that position. But it was important to have in the know Muggles helping out as well and Stiles always knew that his dad was one of the better ones.

He'd been assured of this fact when an Auror guard was placed with John two years ago. Now, as things were being put back together and the wizarding world doing their best to slip back into obscurity, Stiles' dad was busier than he'd been in years.

But no matter what happened during the week, Saturday mornings during the summer were just for the two of them. Stiles would give in to making bacon for his dad and John would make several kinds of pancakes and they'd spend all morning talking and eating.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do at the end of the summer?" asked John around a bite of chocolate chip pancake.

"Well the Ministry hasn't really told us our options," said Stiles, dodging a little.

John gave him a skeptical look. "Like Danny hasn't already hacked in and memorized the education department's entire plan and press releases."

Stiles shrugged because his dad did know his friends well. "We want to go to school. Waiting around doesn't seem like a good plan."

"Are you going with Beauxbatons or do you want me to talk to some of my contacts in New York?" asked his dad.

"Neither. We voted on Durmstrang," said Stiles, a little surprised that hadn't been his dad's first thought.

John choked on his bacon and gave his son a 'really' look when Stiles levitated the bacon out of his throat. "Thank you. Show off. But Durmstrang? Are you sure that's the best idea? It's not like Hogwarts."

"That's kind of the point," answered Stiles. "We can learn more and learn things that are different." He took a sip of his orange juice. "I kind of thought you'd be happy about that choice since Mom went there."

They didn't talk about Aria Stilinski a lot but both men had gotten to the point of being able to at least bring her up without getting depressed. It was progress.

John looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. "Durmstrang is just more of a struggle than you might be prepared for. It's a school with a lot of secrets."

"So is Hogwarts," shrugged Stiles.

"Different secrets," said John.

Stiles watched as his dad's eyes flickered with emotions before seeming to bottle up his personal feelings and come to acceptance.

"The others want to go too?"

Stiles nodded. "Yep."

"You'll have to work hard until August when Durmstrang holds entrance exams," noted John.

"Entrance exams?"

"The school doesn't believe in assuming that students are prepared to move up to a new year just because they passed a previous year. If you don't qualify for the next year, students are required to attend an intensive three week training course in September for remedial training. Only then can they start with their year when term begins at the first of October," explained John.

"Oh. Do you think we'd be able to study enough to be fifth year students?" asked Stiles.

"Probably. You're all smart and quick learners," said John. "But…"

"But what?"

"You'll need to find a careful balance on your Dark Arts knowledge. Durmstrang may say they'll accept former Hogwarts students but I highly doubt anyone will be allowed in without some practical knowledge of the Dark Arts."

"And too much raises suspicions." Stiles knew how that worked. Finding a balance had been the way his group stayed under the radar for years. "Any suggestions?"

He assumed his dad would indicate research into what spells younger students knew and work on a few of those. Or tell him to go talk to the Ministry about appropriate study options. Stiles didn't expect his dad to rattle off a list.

"You'll need to master the Drink of Despair and a poisonous mist. There are less severe variations on the Cruciatus curse which are a must for any Durmstrang student. While not a Dark spell, any student past their 3rd year is expected to produce at minimum a non-corporeal Patronus, to use in transfiguration class in particular but also for protection if venturing beyond school grounds. A knowledge of the uses of black herbs is essential, particularly to qualify for potions. Lastly I would recommend an understanding of the Inferius curse. You don't want to master it, or at least don't show you can, but most exiting fourth years can get a few seconds of life out of an insect."

Stiles' gaped. "That was really specific, Dad. How do you know all of that?"

A clear mask came over his father's features, telling Stiles that the conversation was about to be over. "That's not important. Just study those items. And when you are at Durmstrang, don't mention how you knew to do these spells. Leave it as the things you were taught last year when Death Eaters were at the school."

"Can't I just mention that Mom was a student and I studied her old books?" asked Stiles, more than a little confused.

"No!" snapped John adamantly. "In fact it would be best if you didn't mention your mother at Durmstrang. I know you kept a low profile at Hogwarts for personal reasons. It is vital that you do so at Durmstrang."

Stiles hesitated before asking his next question. "Won't they know about Mom anyway if I go there?"

John shook his head. "She wasn't a Stilinski, they'd know her by her maiden name. Which you will not mention."

"I don't understand."

"I wish I could explain but it's better if I don't. I can't stop you from going to school there but I can make sure you're prepared and won't overly stand out." John had stopped eating and was staring intently at Stiles. "Promise me you won't make a name for yourself if I agree to let you go."

Stiles could tell his dad was serious about this, too serious. But he nodded. "I promise."

John gave a little sigh of relief and snagged a blueberry pancake off the serving plate. "Okay. Your mother's old textbooks are in the attic, they'll have the information your friends need to practice the spells before you go through the entrance examinations."

"Um, okay," said Stiles. Sensing this particular part of the conversation was over, he reached for the last of the bacon, chewing slowly before changing the topic to a debate on the best Quidditch team. He'd figure out later what his dad was trying to hide.

Lydia frowned at him when he relayed his dad's permission and subsequent secrecy. "You really don't know why?"

"You do?!"

"Stiles, your mom's reputation at Durmstrang is legendary," said Jackson.

"Legendary?" he scoffed.

"Look, she's not Potter obviously but your mom was up there with Sirius Black in terms of notoriety. She's just not given as much attention at Hogwarts but the history is there," continued Jackson.

Stiles was shocked. "How did I not know that my mom was famous?"

Lydia patted his hand. "Probably because you were too young to care and it's only been a little over a year since you've been comfortable talking about your mom. We weren't going to bring it up unless you did."

That made sense. "So what did she do?"

"No one's really sure," explained Danny. "There are a lot of conflicting rumors and no one can really get an answer. But supposedly she and her boyfriend were really good, scary smart, and they befriended a lot of people in the surrounding areas of Durmstrang. Anyway, there was some sort of civil war in Russia and your mom fought with the rebels, even though she was still in school. When the dust settled, the rebels had won, your mom had disappeared, and she'd stripped several leading dark wizards of their magical abilities."

"You mean their powers," corrected Stiles.

"No, he means abilities," said Lydia. "The wizards were essentially Squibs. I think even Dumbledore was brought in to consult but he couldn't figure out how to get the magic back."

"Do you really think he tried? Dumbledore wasn't exactly fond of dark wizards," said Stiles.

"But he would have wanted an answer," noted Lydia. "And there never was one. Your mom just disappeared."

"Then how did you know about her?"

"Silly, you told us her name and so we researched it, just like we did with everything first year."

"Where was I?"

"I think that was when you got in the way at the Gryffindor Quidditch practice and Oliver beaned you with a beater on accident," offered Jackson.

Lydia snitched one of Danny's candies before continuing. "Anyway, you never wanted to talk about her much and once we found all that stuff out, we figured the professors wouldn't really like us knowing that sort of history."

"You mean it was in a book in the restricted section." Stiles knew his friends well.

Lydia just smirked at him and grabbed another candy, stealing her hand away before Danny could smack it. She always took Danny's favorite flavors.

"Your dad probably just knows that people have judgments about your mother and doesn't want you to deal with any fallout," assumed Jackson.

"But how would he know?"

Danny shrugged. "Maybe your mom told him when he got the Ministry job? Just to make sure he didn't give her away. Muggles are already mistreated a lot, she probably didn't want your dad to deal with any extra crap from Purebloods."

Lydia could tell Stiles was still a little confused. "Durmstrang opened its doors to werewolves as a direct result of your mother's actions. Before it was only vampires who were allowed to study with wizards. And you know how a lot of Purebloods feel about non-wizard, half-human creatures."

Stiles nodded. He did know that. There were reasons that Isaac had been hiding out when Danny found him all those years ago. Their side of the world wasn't fond of such dark creatures. Now he definitely wanted to go to Durmstrang. Mysteries had always been his favorite addiction.

"Well anyway, we need to figure out these spells before the exams. I don't want to be held back to fourth year," said Stiles.

Jackson shuddered at the thought. "We were doing okay at the Cruciatus curse at school. Maybe we should learn variations on that first? At least while we find a way to order the ingredients needed for the potions your dad suggested."

The others nodded their agreement and once they'd finished their tea, made their way out of the shop and headed to Lydia's to practice.

They had five weeks to learn as much as possible. Entrance exams at Durmstrang were almost at the end of August, to give students who need remedial training a week to go home and collect their things. It was currently the middle of July.

So they trained. All their unsanctioned research worked in their favor. Jackson's parents had connections in the underworld that he was not allowed to talk about but he was able to get everything they needed to learn the appropriate potions.

Stiles mastered the Drink of Despair in a day. No one commented on what sort of history he had to have to be able to understand such a potion and for that he was grateful.

Lydia of course memorized the details on various ingredients and quizzed everyone at random to insure they keep things straight.

While Jackson managed to master his Patronus first—it's some sort of lizard like creature that none of them recognize and yet somehow fit perfectly—it didn't take long for the rest to figure it out as well. Lydia's was a jackal which made no sense but no one commented on that. Danny's Patronus is a simple dog, because everyone loved man's best friend and everyone loved Danny.

It's Stiles who had the most trouble. He actually conjured up the first corporeal Patronus of the group but his won't stop shifting. It goes back and forth between a fox and a wolf and no one could figure out why.

Eventually he gave up and the others worked to get theirs to corporeal form.

Stiles' dad insisted on staying out of training but he left papers on the table one day with notes about where dementors have been sighted and that Aurors won't be there for 2 more days to deal with it.

They did need practical experience.

In an odd twist, Danny managed to be the best at the lesser versions of the Cruciatus curse. They all insist on practicing that one on each other, refusing to subject even an animal to such cruelty just for training. Stiles thought they'd have to get over that once school starts but he didn't voice this concern.

Even Danny seemed a bit worried about how well he takes to such curses.

But it's the Inferi curse that got to the group enough to make them decide on a three day break from training. They're all half-heartedly trying to get flies to buzz for a few seconds while sitting in the park one day. The park was on the border of a local cemetery, and the overgrowth protects them from sight.

Stiles and Jackson weren't the only ones getting frustrated. So when they all kind of looked at each other, exasperated, and as one turned back with a vengeance on the flies, there's more force behind the curse.

Too much as it turns out.

The flies buzzed up into the air for a good three minutes and they let out small cheers over their success.

When the flies died again and fell back into the box was when they notice the strange scratching sounds. Lydia was the first to spot the hand clawing its way out of the ground in the cemetery. Later, Stiles would insist that they weren't to blame for standing in shock until actual bodies came out of the ground.

Half the cemetery was woken with their spell.

Jackson reversed the curse on one of the Inferi, sending it back to its grave and Stiles breathed a sigh of relief. Together they could fix this.

But before any of them got the chance, the unmistakable popping sounds of Aurors arriving on the other side of the cemetery could be heard.

Lydia reacted first, grabbing Stiles's hand and running, the other two close behind. They couldn't be found here. The Ministry was very clear that students were not to attempt to study anything taught at other schools until they were enrolled. Especially potential Durmstrang students.

They were halfway through the park when it became clear that they wouldn't get away fast enough. No one was apparating, after all they can't be sure if they're Muggles or not. But at least two sets of footsteps were gaining on them.

Lydia let go of Stiles and shoved him at Danny, just as Jackson pulled her to him and started kissing Lydia. They've pulled this distraction before so it was like second nature for Stiles to slide against Danny and pull the boy's lips down to his.

Lydia and Jackson were standing, while Danny got Stiles on to the ground in the few seconds before the Aurors caught up.

Stiles thinks it is the stupidest assumption ever but they learned the hard way that a lot of people just assume two boys could only kiss if they were two seconds from fucking in a public area. The one time they'd let Jackson and Lydia play it hot and heavy had cost them two weeks of detention with Snape. And Snape hadn't actually hated them.

When the Aurors skidded to a stop and looked at them suspiciously, Stiles moved into action. He's always the one who can ramble in ways that confuse people. It works for them.

Stiles turned his head towards the Aurors. "What is with all the running? Dudes, we didn't try to find a private area of the park for everyone to train for a marathon next to us."

Danny pressed kisses along Stiles' collarbone as he talked, the picture of a boy who just wants to be with his boyfriend. Lydia and Jackson were making inappropriate noises, though that's mostly Lydia. She liked to be noticed. Yet another reason she and Jackson worked together and had since second year started.

"What did you see?" demanded the Auror.

"I didn't Isee/I anything," huffed Stiles in clear annoyance. "Obviously I'm a little distracted right now. But you two are the second time people have come running through making a crap load of noise and it is really fucking annoying."

One Auror gave them a skeptical look, though the other seemed to have bought it. Stiles bucked his hips against Danny's to emphasize his Iother/I interests and Lydia picked up her cue.

"Ugh, baby, stop making that popping sound with your jaw. You know I hate it," she cooed at Jackson.

The skeptical Auror's head popped up and like clockwork Jackson responded. "I'm not popping my jaw, babe. C'mon, I wanna go home. You forgot a blanket this time."

"Popping sound?" questioned the Auror.

Lydia didn't bother looking at them. "I'm probably just hearing things. It was kind of at a distance anyway. Whatever. Let's go baby."

The female Auror, the one who didn't buy Stiles' story initially seemed to accept it now. It probably helped that as soon as she stopped paying attention to Stiles and Danny, Stiles slid his hands up Danny's shirt, kissing along his torso.

"Thanks for your help," said the male Auror. They moved out of sight but the unmistakable sounds of them disapparating could be heard soon after.

Danny shoved Stiles away and laughed. "What is it with you and licking my abs every time we do that?"

Stiles pouted a little bit. "I have a little bit of a thing for abs."

"Fetish," muttered Jackson, because he remembers the time it was just the two of them and Stiles went to town. They hadn't been suspected of stealing the potions book out of the restricted area of the library but they were given a strict lecture about why it was not appropriate for a fourteen year old to be on his knees in front of another fourteen year old.

Stiles always thought people were so weird about affection. Obviously he wasn't interested in blowing Jackson, Lydia would castrate him, but their teachers always seemed to think it was weird the way they were all comfortable touching each other.

It was kind of second nature to his group though. In fact it seemed weird if they weren't being affectionate.

Still, he sat up and brushed himself off before letting Danny help him up. "So about what just happened…"

"We aren't doing that curse together anymore," said Lydia. "I had no idea we had that kind of power but I'm thinking even Durmstrang doesn't consider waking the dead to be an appropriate fifth year skill."

"I don't think it's an appropriate anyone skill," noted Jackson.

It's Danny who suggested a break from training and they all agreed.

When they regroup days later, Danny is also the one who suggested that they set their expectations on qualifying for 5th year remedial training. Staying fourth years is unacceptable to all four members of their group. But passing with flying colors will raise too many questions. Hogwarts students, even ones from Ravenclaw who were taught by Death Eaters for a year, are not the type to know that much about the Dark Arts.

As is always the case with their little pack, a term Stiles has always used without knowing why, slipping under the radar is the goal.

So the last week of studying is spent in a sense unlearning spells. They figure out to add an extra half turn to a potion or adjusting wand movement to end up with an inaccurate result. Nothing too bad, since they can't look like idiots. Ravenclaw has a reputation to uphold, even at Durmstrang. But just enough.

Stiles even had his dad watch the final practice, to see if he thought they found the balance. The only frown came at the sight of Stiles' Patronus but otherwise he approved of their work. John's only advice was to be honest with their answers, rather than try to please the examiners.

The entrance exams were held at an inn located on Diagon Alley. The Durmstrang representatives were clear that the school was for students, not potential students, and therefore exams would be held off-site.

Stiles, Jackson, Lydia, and Danny had no problems with the entrance exams. In fact they tended more to remind each other to pretend this is taking more effort. One grader, an Auror with long dark hair and piercing green eyes gave them a sharp look when Lydia told Danny to grimace so the spell looks difficult. Stiles panicked for a moment, thinking she heard them but the woman turned away and said nothing so he dismisses it. They were whispering and too far away to hear anyway.

On a hunch, Stiles screwed up his Patronus worse than normal, keeping it to a strong wisp instead of allowing it to take an actual form. Something about the piercing blue eyes from the man in the middle of the panel worry him.

In the end, they have only to enter one by one for the final interview. 32 Hogwarts students applied for entrance to Durmstrang, most of them Slytherin, and there were older students who outperformed his pack. But as one after another comes out in despair, told they won't be accepted, Stiles noted two things.

First was that his friends seem to be doing okay. Both Jackson and Danny had been successful so far. Stiles is up before Lydia. The other was that results during the exams seem to have very little influence on the final decision. Their answers are what matters most.

When Stiles walked in, he was formally introduced to the panel. Each member has taught at Durmstrang but Stiles learned that the school believes in inviting guest professors twice per term to insure a well-rounded education. This is the manner in which the panelists are associated with Durmstrang. None are full time professors.

A stocky blonde man was introduced as Lars, just Lars, and Stiles restrained from making a comment about being the Swedish Beyonce. The girl who seemed to be watching a little too closely is Laura Hale and the man making him nervous is Chris Argent. Stiles also noted that Laura and Chris seem extremely uncomfortable next to each other but Lars was clearly too oblivious to trade spaces.

"Why Durmstrang, Mr. Stilinski?" asked Laura.

"The Ministry of Magic offered limited options for continuing my studies," responded Stiles. "Tutoring or missing a year of school wasn't acceptable."

"That answers the question of continuing your education," noted Chris. "But Durmstrang specifically? You and three others were the only non-Slytherin applicants. What draws you to our school?"

Stiles thought for a moment. The obvious answer was the chance to learn new things, visit a new country, experience other cultures. But he remembered what his dad said. "The study of the dark arts."

Chris and Laura raised identical eyebrows at that, leaning forward. Lars looked bored and Stiles was seriously thinking that Lars was only there to break any tie votes.

"Explain please," said Laura. "You have a desire to learn the Dark Arts?"

"I have a desire to learn about the Dark Arts," corrected Stiles. "Hogwarts is, was, an excellent school and I have no doubt that I could continue to learn from my former professors if that option was available. But there are also ingrained prejudices within the school and the parents who influence the teachings. Professor Snape had taught that the Dark Arts are always adapting and growing, always something new to learn. While I don't doubt his statement, that also indicates that it is important to know how to defend against such curses. I don't believe in learning defensive spells without having the opportunity for practical application and Hogwarts doesn't offer me that opportunity."

"Knowledge is power right," noted Chris.

"No sir," responded Stiles firmly. "Knowledge is little better than words on a page unless you use it. I could know how to do every spell in existence but if I never actually try them, that knowledge is useless. It's the application, not the existence, that determines whether something, or someone, is beneficial."

"People aren't born good or bad?" questioned Chris, and he seemed perhaps overly invested in Stiles' answer.

"People make choices, Mr. Argent. Some are good, some are bad, all are motivated by something."

Laura leaned in a little further. "What of the other students? I'm certain you are aware that it is not just humans who attend Durmstrang. How would you interact with them?"

"Probably in a very annoying manner to most of them." Stiles had no problem being honest on this one. "I have what my friends term a selective curiosity. Give me something new to learn and I devour all the knowledge I can find. But I don't go looking for a mystery. The idea of sitting in class with werewolves or vampires fascinates me."

"You see them as a curiosity?" asked Lars, entering the conversation.

Stiles shook his head. "I see them as people with skills and abilities that I don't have. I can't be the best wizard and eventual Auror around if I'm not willing to learn from others." He paused for a second. "Oh shit! I'm not going to be able to convince the kitchen to make my favorite garlic pesto bread am I? Damn it." Stiles wasn't trying to make an inappropriate joke here. The thought of living without his bread is heartbreaking. It took him all of first year to teach the house elves how to make it.

"Language, Mr. Stilinski," said Chris, but he looked like he wants to laugh.

"Yes, you will have to give up garlic," said Lars, and fangs flashed at Stiles.

To his relief, he didn't flinch away. It did make him wonder about something else. "Are you Durmstrang's werewolf representative, Miss Hale?"

Laura gave him another of her piercing looks. "How did you figure that out?"

"You sniffed the air when I said garlic," answered Stiles. "And if Lars is a vampire, I find it hard to believe that Durmstrang would keep a werewolf out of the proceedings."

The panel seemed to be contemplating and then something clicked again for Stiles. "That's why everyone keeps getting rejected!"

All three turned back to him. Lars indicated that Stiles should continue.

"I'm sorry, it's just that werewolves can sense if someone is lying right?" He barreled on without waiting for confirmation. "The other students keep telling you what they think is the right answer instead of being honest. No wonder Jackson & Danny made it through. This makes so much more sense now."

"Thank you, Mr. Stilinski," interrupted Chris, cutting off the ramble. "You will need to attend remedial training in September, but welcome to Durmstrang."

"Thank you," said Stiles, holding back from cheering out loud.

"An owl will bring a list of school supplies to your home tomorrow," added Laura and then Stiles is dismissed.

Twenty minutes later, Lydia was successful as well and Jackson insisted on going out to celebrate.

The waitress at the bar kept sneaking firewhisky shots to them, even though it is horribly obvious that they're all fifteen. Even Jackson could only pass for seventeen on a really good day. But between drinks and food and discussing theories on why Chris and Laura seem so tense around each other, Stiles settled into a feeling of contentment.

His pack will still be together and that's all he really needs out of life.

"Derek Hale is an asshole!" cried Stiles, flopping onto the hill where his friends were enjoying the lunch break between training sessions.

Derek is Laura's brother and the remedial training professor. Supposedly he was an Auror but there was a situation with Chris' sister Kate and Derek's two years probation includes covering the remedial course.

Lydia and Danny wasted no time getting the gossip of Durmstrang. Turns out the students who were held back are pretty loose-lipped. No one really knows all the details but the story goes that the Hales and Argents were heavily involved in the civil war that resulted in Durmstrang allowing half-humans to attend school.

There's been a lot of tension ever since, understandably so, but it culminated about six years ago when Kate Argent tried seducing Derek Hale in order to get to his family. He figured it out before she could hurt anyone but not soon enough to keep her from trying to burn the Hale house. She wasn't successful.

Derek told his uncle Peter about Kate—who was acting under orders from her father Gerard—and Peter had managed to kill Gerard but Kate killed Peter.

She was currently in Azkaban but Derek was emotionally damaged anyway.

Now however, rumor had it that Chris Argent was having an affair with Laura Hale. It was a mess.

And to make matters worse, the Argents had once been a powerful wizarding family but they were the ones who were stripped of their magic in the war.

Stiles and his friends were very careful to keep Stiles' background a secret when they learned that fact.

Still, emotional turmoil or not, Derek did seem to have a particular joy in tormenting Stiles, singling him out for the tiniest mistake.

It wouldn't be a big deal to Stiles—really once you were taught by Severus Snape, other professors just didn't measure up—but for some reason he couldn't help but want to make Derek happy with his work. It was this fact that pissed Stiles off more than anything else.

"Sorry sweetie," said Lydia, rubbing his head affectionately. Since coming to Durmstrang, Stiles had been growing it out and in the almost three weeks that they'd been here, it was finally getting a little bit long.

"He's just the worst," moaned Stiles. "Why can't he give me a break? Just once! I'm actually trying with this stupid training."

Jackson leaned back to rest his head on Lydia's lap and kicked his legs over so they're draped across Stiles' stomach. "Maybe you should just admit that you have a crush on him."

"Dude, I do not have a crush on Derek Hale." Stiles pushed at Jackson's legs but of course they don't move.

"Du-ude," retorted Jackson, exaggerating the word. "You are five seconds from drooling on him. We've all seen the way you stare at his abs."

"They're like a Greek god," said Stiles. "But that is just appreciation. I'm not interested in Derek. Ugh. Look I'll prove it, Danny kiss me."

Danny obligingly leaned over and pressed a sloppy kiss against Stiles' lips, even giving him a little tongue.

Stiles shoved Danny away after a minute. "You don't have stubble."

Lydia gave him a knowing look.

"Damn it!" yelled Stiles again. "This sucks. I can't start at a new school having a crush on my werewolf professor. Do you realize how cliché that is?"

"Seeing as I've never actually heard of a story where a wizard student transferred schools halfway through his education only to fall for his training professor who is a werewolf and part of a family feud that may involve the student's mother, I don't see how this is a cliché," said Lydia sarcastically.

Stiles chose the mature route and stuck his tongue out at her.

Danny twisted Lydia's hair in his hand as Stiles complained. "You know he's into you too, right?"

"What?!" Stiles jolted up, making Jackson move away with an annoyed look. "He does not!"

"Um yeah, he does," said Lydia. "Hale doesn't exactly lean over so close he's pressed up against the back of any other students when he's correcting essays or potion work."

"He's way into you, Stiles," agreed Jackson. "You should just make a move."

"I can't make a move!"

"Why not?" asked Danny. "Private exams are tomorrow and then he's gone. Might as well take your shot before he's gone."

There are moments when Stiles loves his friends and right now is definitely one of them. "You really think I have a shot?"

"I think the worst thing that happens is that he turns you down and you never see him again," said Lydia.

"Fine. I'm gonna go for it," decided Stiles. "Yep, definitely going for it."

"Good," said Danny, grinning at Stiles.

They relaxed in the sun for the last few minutes of their break, enjoying each other's company and appreciating these last days without a school full of people.

There were others with them in training but the Durmstrang students were too focused on passing training to really talk to his pack.

Stiles was a complete disaster the rest of training, flailing whenever Derek walked by and generally failing at everything.

Derek dismissed them early, whether out of kindness or a desire not to deal with any of them was hard to tell.

"Stiles," said Derek, interrupting Stiles very important inner debate over the possible definition of Derek's abs.

"Stiles!"

"Yeah." Stiles turned back to Derek. "Sorry, zoned out a little bit."

"I can see that. Care to explain what was more important than the exam?"

"Not particularly," said Stiles.

Derek glowered at him. "That wasn't actually a question."

"I'd really rather not answer," said Stiles again.

He was standing in the front of the classroom while Derek sat at his desk. Derek got up and walked over to Stiles. "Stiles. Talk."

"Look growly pants, you have to learn to use your words," said Stiles, backing up. His legs hit the desk, forcing him to stop.

Derek moved closer, pressing up against Stiles.

"We should get back to the exam," stammered Stiles.

"The exam was over five minutes ago," returned Derek.

"Oh. Um." Stiles was a master at a plan. But execution? Yeah that was a lot more nerve-wracking. Saying he was going to make a move on Derek was great when he was surrounded by his friends. Standing in front of the 20 year old and being acutely aware that he was still a teenager was a very different story.

Plus Stiles was finding it increasingly hard to breathe as Derek's legs pressed against his. Did the werewolf even realize what he was doing? Maybe werewolves just didn't understand personal space. But all Stiles could think about was Derek's stubble and the way he smelled like the forest and how his eyes were flecked with emerald green.

"Oh to hell with it," muttered Stiles.

He grabbed the lapels of Derek's leather jacket in his hands and pulled the older man towards him. Stiles pushed upwards and pressed his lips against Derek's.

Stiles is a good kisser. He has it on excellent authority from his friends and on days when they don't count, from four other Hogwarts students. For some reason being bisexual translated into a number of students thinking they could experiment on him. Once Stiles learned that, he stuck to pestering Danny into making out with him once in a while and ignoring everyone else.

Derek seemed to agree that Stiles had some expertise because he pushed back against Stiles, running his hands along Stiles' sides and deepening the kiss.

Derek's hips ground against Stiles and he happily bucked upwards as his tongue pressed against Derek's lips.

Stiles was marveling at the way Derek tasted like pine trees and peppermint. When Derek licked into Stiles' mouth, he let out a whimper of joy.

Unfortunately for Stiles, the sound seemed to snap Derek out of the moment. He shoved himself away from Stiles, breathing hard from several feet away.

"Why did you stop?" whined Stiles, hands reaching out towards Derek.

"We can't do that, Stiles," panted Derek. "You're a student and fifteen. Fuck."

"So? C'mon Derek, you were obviously into it," insisted Stiles.

"I…That doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does!"

"No, Stiles, it doesn't. I just haven't been with anyone in a while. It was a mistake. And it's not happening again." Derek practically growled the words.

"Fine. It was a mistake," snapped Stiles. "I'm just a pathetic kid with a stupid crush and you're not interested. Got it. Thanks so much for sugar coating my feelings." He grabbed his wand off the desk and started to storm out the door.

"Stiles," began Derek.

"Whatever. We'll never see each other again and you can just joke about this with your friends." If Stiles slammed the door behind him, well Derek and his preciously sensitive werewolf senses could just deal with it.

Stiles took the weekend to complain to his friends, who were all perfectly sympathetic and angry at Derek. By the time Monday rolled around, Stiles had firmly convinced himself that his crush would wear away. No big deal.

And it worked. Stiles joked with his friends, didn't piss off any teachers, and even made a couple new friends. Everything was going great.

Until he walked into Transfiguration class and Derek introduced himself as their teacher for the rest of the year.


	2. Chapter 2

**Definitely a good chunk of exposition here. I felt a need to kind of explain how the school worked (to a point) and establish a few more characters. More of the mystery will kick in during the next chapter.**

* * *

As it turned out, Durmstrang wasn't all that different from Hogwarts. Stiles supposed other Hogwarts students might have had trouble with the school's stricter rules and insistence on decorum in class but as Ravenclaws, none of his friends minded at all.

The classes were all the same, with the exception of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Because each class incorporated dark arts lessons, that one was basically a dueling class. They studied offensive and defensive spells for four days and dueled on Fridays.

Jackson loved that class.

Durmstrang didn't separate students into houses, instead sleeping arrangements were based on year. Lydia made instant best friends with one of her roommates, a werewolf named Erica who was every bit as snarky as Stiles and tough as nails. They had two other human wizards with them, Lena and Nadya, but the two were distinctly prejudiced against werewolves.

Initially, Erica had held back as the two informed Lydia that she should stick with them, and not lower herself just because the school insisted on letting half-breeds attend school with humans.

In typical Lydia awesomeness, she spent 4.6 minutes telling Lena and Nadya exactly where they could stuff their prejudice and then hooked her arm around Erica's waist and demanded that the werewolf join her for lunch.

They'd become fast friends. Erica was smart and talkative once she wasn't being held back by Lena and Nadya, who had apparently been her roommates since first year.

Stiles, Jackson, and Danny were given the same room, with a vampire named Adrian joining them. The boys all extended an offer of friendship, but Adrian politely declined, explaining that he didn't do well with friendships.

Danny looked like he wanted to push it at first, trying to figure out if Adrian was biased too or trying to pretend he didn't want friends, but something in Adrian's eyes said not to. The vampire seemed to have more going on that he didn't want to talk about.

That impression was solidified the first night in the room. Adrian had handed them a small perfume like bottle and requested that they not open it in the room when using it. He explained that it was a concentrated form of garlic, and each human should dab a single dot on their neck at night before going to bed.

Stiles questioned that, both because the smell should bother Adrian and those sorts of precautions shouldn't be needed if he was at school. The vampire told them it was strong enough to repel a vampire who got close enough to attack but not enough to offend at any other time.

Adrian had quietly added that he tended to have nightmares a lot and didn't know where he was when he woke up. Apparently he'd never attacked anyone yet but he wasn't interested in taking that risk.

The boys took the garlic but Stiles could see the look in Jackson's eyes that said he was going to try and fix Adrian. Jackson had this thing about fixing people. Stiles never really understood that but then Stiles didn't make much effort to care about most people. He tended to keep his small group of friends and call it good.

There are four Quidditch teams at Durmstrang. Each team is selected by a bidding process. Players tried out and then listed in order their preferred team. Then the captains of each team met to place their bids and discuss matching players to the team that wanted them.

Captains were chosen the previous year and automatically held their position on the team. Everyone else had to try out again. It seemed to be generally accepted that most returning players got their spots back, but there were always chances of being knocked out.

Danny was an excellent keeper and he made the (name) team without difficulty. He wanted them, they wanted him. It was a good fit.

Jackson loved playing beater, but he ended up on an opposing team. It took sneaking down to the kitchen and getting the house elves to make a batch of pumpkin cookies with cinnamon frosting to cheer Jackson up.

Every year Jackson and Danny would offer to help Lydia or Stiles make a team and this year was no different. But the other half of their pack liked being able to cheer in the stands, and they politely declined the boys' help yet again.

All in all, it was shaping up to be a smart move going to Durmstrang. The only class Stiles hadn't been to yet was Transfiguration. The professor this year was busy apparently, and hadn't arrived until today, two weeks into the term.

Stiles couldn't wait, transfiguration was by far his favorite subject, but he tried to focus on what Erica and Lydia were talking about.

"Anyway, we don't really have a place like Hogsmeade," explained Erica. "There aren't a ton of non-magic people around, Muggles as you call them, and those who are don't freak out about us."

"Really?" interrupted Stiles around a mouthful of potatoes. Thanks to house elves from around the world, the cuisine at Durmstrang was somewhat varied but there was still a lot of fish. A LOT of fish. Stiles was trying to get used to it but he found himself eating a lot of potatoes in the meantime.

Erica quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry, I just can't imagine not keeping it a secret," finished Stiles.

"Oh! Well, we don't go around making big displays or anything. But around here most people have more respect for the stories of the past, so they react to strange things by hanging up extra garlic or building their homes out of imported mountain ash wood."

"Guess its lucky people are superstitious," laughed Danny.

Erica whirled on him. "It's not superstition! England would do well to remember the legends that founded them. And anyway, obviously we aren't just a fairytale."

Danny held his hands up in apology. "Sorry, my mistake."

She graced him with a smile. "Just so we're clear."

Lydia wisely redirected the conversation. "If there's no Hogsmeade equivalent, are we stuck here until holiday?"

"Oh no! Twice a term there's a weekend trip for 4th years and above to Tromsø," said Erica. "The carriages take us to the closest train station and then there's a wizarding inn tucked into a back alley that students stay at."

"That sounds awesome," said Jackson before returning to his meal. He wasn't having any issues with the fish.

"Technically we're supposed to use the time for research as well, the university has an excellent library, including a section for us that of course the regular students don't know about. But everyone pretty much checks out a book and then enjoys the rest of the weekend." Erica reached her fork over and snagged the slice of cod off Stiles' plate, who happily shared.

"When you say enjoy…" began Lydia.

Erica laughed. "I mean enjoy. My brother stuck with me last year since I didn't really have any friends but it was still a blast. There's a decent sized wizard population in the town but it's also just fun in general. We'll have to go to this club on the second trip. It won't be open when we go in a few weeks."

"Brother?" asked Stiles and Danny at the same time before elbowing each other.

"Oh yeah, he's the best. He graduated though and is apprenticing to be an Auror." Her mind seemed to wander for a second, then she snapped out of it. "Actually he'll be home this weekend. I'll have him come by for dinner if that's cool."

They all nodded. Stiles in particular had every intention of picking apart the kid's brain on the apprenticeship process.

"Just don't let Stiles near him," joked Danny. "He'll never stop asking Auror questions."

Stiles stuck his tongue out at his best friend. "I don't ask that many questions."

Lydia patted him on the head. "You really do, sweetie."

"Speaking of things you like to ask questions about," said Jackson, getting up from the table, "we have our first Transfiguration class in about five minutes."

The others followed his lead and they hurried down the hall to get to class.

Which is where Stiles promptly did three things in a row. First he came to a dead stop when saw that Derek Hale was his professor. Then he tripped over absolutely nothing and fell on his face, taking two chairs with him in an impressive display of flailing. And finally, he stood up, grinned and took a little bow, and got the fuck over it.

"Mr. Stilinski," said Derek, with a small quirk of a smile as Stiles found a seat.

"Mr. Hale," answer Stiles, giving a tiny salute. He started pulling out his book and turning to the chapter marked on the board while Derek verified the rest of the attendance.

And that over it thing? Actually true. The thing is, Transfiguration is Stiles' absolute favorite subject. Charms is a close second but he'll still take Transfiguration first. The subject fascinates him.

A lot of people don't necessarily understand the difference, at least not in their first year, but Stiles was one who did. Charms lets you be creative, altering what something can do. Like say lifting a feather in the air or turning a key in a lock or even the Patronus charm with the way it turns memories into weapons against dementors instead of something to be fed on.

Transfiguration changes what a thing is and the science of it all has always been something that interests Stiles.

In fact, he's not surprised to see that the class is primarily full of werewolves. His friends had signed up for it, assuming Charms was still required in 5th year just as it was at Hogwarts but they'd learned it was an elective after 4th year. Not that it would have changed any of their opinions.

Werewolves are technically a form of transfiguration, so they are more likely to understand the concept and how to make a spell work.

5th years at Durmstrang study conjuration spells, which at Hogwarts was a 6th year topic. Stiles was grateful for the remedial training that insured they could handle vanishing spells. He didn't feel so far behind his classmates.

"Who can tell me what conjuration is?" asked Derek from the front of the room.

Danny's hand shot up. "The act of producing an object from thin air."

"Correct. Are there any limitations to a conjuration spell?"

A girl across the room raised her hand. "Some things require the use of the dark arts to be conjured but food cannot be created out of nothing no matter what magic you use."

Derek nodded at her. "This week we will be working on the Orchideous spell. If everyone will please turn to page sixteen, we'll begin with paragraph three."

The class quickly flipped to the appropriate page and for the rest of the hour, the only sounds were quills scratching against paper as Derek lectured on understanding the properties of the spell.

Class ended before Stiles was even close to ready for it to.

"Mr. Stilinski," said Derek.

Stiles looked up.

"Stay behind. I'd like a word."

"Yeah, okay," answered Stiles. It was an easy guess what this is about. He finished packing up his things and waved his friends off as the class dispersed.

"What's your next class?" asked Derek. "I'll write you a note to excuse tardiness when we're done."

"Oh, I have a free period after this class," said Stiles. "So no worries there. Look, can I just say something before you start?"

Derek raised an eyebrow, and it really wasn't fair how expressive he was with those things, but he motioned for Stiles to go ahead.

"I had a crush, dude. Just a run of the mill, here one day and gone the next kind of crush. I tend to do that a lot. The whole overly invested thing I mean. Anyway, not that I'm a big fan of being pushed away but I'm not going to say anything so we're good. I'm not interested anymore." Stiles shrugged and pulled his book bag over his shoulder. "The thing is, Transfiguration is kind of my passion. I love it more than anything, including food and I really love food. You seem to know what you're doing and I want to learn. I'm not going to do or say anything that jeopardizes that."

Derek stared for a second. "Yeah fine, great. Glad we cleared that up. See you tomorrow."

If Stiles had been a bit more observant, he would have seen Derek's knuckles grow white and his claws start to extend as he gripped the desk when Stiles said he was over his crush. He'd have remembered that while werewolves only had slightly heightened hearing, scent was really important to them and Derek had inhaled deeply when he walked over. And if he'd been really observant, he would have seen Derek's eyes flash with something like sadness when Stiles started turning away.

But then, for all of Stiles' smarts, sometimes he's a little dumb.

Stiles was excited for Friday to finally come around so he could actually practice the Orchideus spell. At least he was until every time he tried it, daisies sprung out of his fingernails instead of his wand. He had no idea what he was doing wrong and neither did Derek. Eventually Stiles had to sit down and go back to his books while the rest of the class practiced.

So he was more than a little grouchy when dinner rolled around.

Lydia poked him. "Stop pouting. Erica's brother will be here any minute and you're acting like a brat."

"I am not," pouted Stiles.

"You are," said Jackson, and not in a tone that was going to allow for Stiles to argue the point.

"It's only the first week," offered Danny in sympathy. "I'm sure you'll get the spell eventually."

Stiles hugged him. "This is why you're my favorite."

"I'm everyone's favorite," retorted Danny.

"I've only known you guys for a few weeks and even I know that's true," laughed Erica from behind them. She sat down next to Lydia, across from the three boys, and pulled a tall, curly haired young man down with her. "This is my brother,"

"Isaac…"breathed Danny.

Danny sat frozen for a minute until Jackson nudged him. And then Danny turned beet red, mumbled an 'oh my god', and ran out of the room.

Stiles felt terrible for him. It was one thing to pine for a guy you barely kissed four years ago. Kind of another to admit that you were still carrying a pretty big candle for the guy the first time you saw him again.

He opened his mouth to try and make up an excuse for Danny, something that wouldn't embarrass his best friend any further when he saw the look on Isaac's face.

"He remembered me," whispered the werewolf with the tiniest hint of awe in his voice.

"Uh yeah," tried Stiles.

Jackson slapped a hand over Stiles' mouth before he could continue. "When Danny's upset he likes to sit up in the Quidditch bleachers," Jackson told Isaac.

Isaac looked confused.

"I don't tell just anyone that," said Jackson firmly.

Isaac looked over at Erica. "I know you want me to hang out with your friends but…"

"Go!" laughed Erica, hugging her older brother. "Come back in time for dessert."

Isaac went.

"So Danny is that Danny," said Erica after all of their shocked looks started to wear off.

"That Danny?" asked Lydia.

Erica rolled her eyes and started filling her plate with food. "You should have seen the way Isaac moped after the Triwizard Tournament. He finally stopped blatantly pining after like a year but he never dates anyone, no matter what Scott and Allison do."

"Who?" asked Stiles.

"Oh, Scott is Isaac's best friend and Allison is Scott's girlfriend. They'll probably be around in a couple weeks. Allison's one of the chaperones on Tromso trips."

"Are they Auror apprentices too?" asked Jackson.

"Scott is. He and Isaac are training together. Allison's a hunter."

"Really?" Stiles' interest peaked.

Hunters were a rarity in the UK, but around here they were apparently a bigger thing. Werewolves went feral from time to time and vampires could become addicted to the bloodlust. Hunters took them down and the rumors were that the hunters were amazingly talented for being mere humans.

"Do you think Isaac can introduce us?" asked Lydia. "We're all fascinated by how these human hunters can defeat the supernatural."

"Yeah that would be a no," answered Erica, passing a plate of vegetables to Jackson. "Allison's an Argent. She's one of the better ones, well her and Chris, but everyone still knows better than to bring up her lack of magic."

Stiles couldn't help himself. "Lack of magic? I thought the Argents lost their magic like twenty years ago."

Erica nodded. "They did. And then a couple years later found out that the same thing applied to their children. The entire line has been stripped of all magic." She took a sip of her tea and missed the wide-eyed exchange between the other three. "Anyway, it's just not something we talk about."

Neither Stiles nor Lydia could figure out what to say to get them off this line of thought, knowing one of them was bound to say something dangerous if it continued. They were both too curious to censor their thoughts most of the time until it was too late.

Luckily, Jackson was used to this. "So how traumatizing do you think it would be to walk out on the Quidditch pitch right now?"

Everyone laughed, Stiles gave Jackson's hand a squeeze under the table in thanks, and the subject switched to Isaac and Danny.

Who did in fact return in time for dessert, held hands under the table (Danny was technically underage compared to Isaac after all) and refused to answer any questions from their friends.

Two weeks later, Stiles was still struggling with Transfiguration. It hadn't happened so much at Hogwarts, partly because they hadn't been at this advanced of a level and partly because last year no one was really paying attention to them anyway. He honestly couldn't remember if they'd even had class the second term. Probably not.

But Stiles normally doesn't have this problem. He's sailing through Charms, though he is careful to keep his Patronus to a strong wisp, acting like he's really trying. Lydia's flashcard system continues to get him through History of Magic and it turns out Erica is the perfect study partner for Muggle & Half-Human Studies because she devours anything from that world.

So the fact that Stiles can't get a spell right in Transfiguration is not only pissing him off, it's threatening to keep him behind. He's determined to get today's, Aguamenti, right.

And it's not that Derek's a bad teacher either. Derek's actually a really good teacher, pointing out slight adjustments to wand placement and the correct syllable to inflect on for the best results. Stiles just isn't getting it. He's going to have to turn in his Ravenclaw badge at this rate.

Stiles was one of the last to attempt the spell this Friday which meant he had a greater audience. Praying he didn't fail, Stiles walked to the front of the class.

"Aguamenti!" He yelled, flicking his wand perfectly.

Nothing happened.

"Try again, Mr. Stilinski," said Derek.

Stiles caught Lydia's eye and she smiled encouragingly.

He tried again. Nothing. Then he heard several gasps and felt water on his arm. Stiles looked first at his wand. Was he pointing the wrong way?

Nope, didn't make a first year mistake.

So Stiles looked at his arm. Or rather, what used to be his arm. Most of it was still there but what should have been skin on his upper arm was now a gently flowing waterfall.

He touched his arm to be sure that it wasn't just excess water on his arm. He had definitely turned his arm into a waterfall.

Derek flicked his own wand and changed Stiles' arm back to normal. "Stay after class, Mr. Stilinski. Next!"

Stiles pouted in his chair the rest of the period. It wasn't like he was angry about staying behind, he knew Derek would need to talk to him and try to figure out why this was happening. Last week he'd turned his big toe into a paper bird. There was definitely a problem. He just didn't like being bad at anything.

Jackson paused as the class filed out, looking back at Derek. "Mr. Hale?"

"Yes, Mr. Whittemore?"

"Is Stiles going to be okay?"

Stiles glanced at Jackson. His friend sounded genuinely worried about him. Oh crap. Maybe there was actually something wrong with him.

"He'll be fine," answered Derek. "I can help him."

Jackson looked nervous still but something in Derek's eyes seemed to calm him because he left without another word.

"You can?" asked Stiles, nervous.

Derek seemed to really look at him for the first time since his spell had fallen apart. "Of course. Stiles, your problem isn't that complex."

"It's not?" Thank goodness.

Derek laughed a little. Some part of Stiles registered that it was nice, like twinkling lights, and not at all like Derek's usual mocking laugh that he used in the halls or in the dining hall. This sounded real. That same part of Stiles thought it would be nice to hear again.

The rest of Stiles, the part in control, didn't pay much attention to Derek's laugh at all.

"No," said Derek. "You need to learn to see your wand as an extension of yourself, not as another tool for spells. That's why you keep having problems. I wasn't completely sure before but three times is a pattern."

Stiles was confused. "But I can do other magic just fine."

Derek shrugged. "Transfiguration isn't like most magic."

"So what do I do?"

"You have a free period after this correct?" asked Derek.

"Yeah."

"Then I'll tutor you until you get it right."

"Really?!" yelped Stiles, totally excited. "You don't mind?"

"I prefer to have students don't grow flowers in their fingers," said Derek, but his eyes danced with a smile. "We'll start on Monday."

"Okay!" Stiles gathered up the rest of his things and shoved his wand into his robes. He hurried out the door to catch Jackson before running back into the room. "Thanks, Derek!"

Derek just waved him off and started cleaning up the classroom. If he lingered at Stiles' seat and sniffed the air in appreciation, no one was there to notice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ugh, I'm like the worst person ever. I get way too many ideas in my head & then when I get writers block on one story I go off and write something else and between Christmas and other stuff there have been a lot of something elses since I last updated this. Also, this is a short ass update. I'm putting up a nice like 5,000 word chapter Friday but it still needs a couple scenes and then some editing and I wanted y'all to have a little something to be like hey, btw, didn't forget about this one. And you should know that I'm committed to this one. I've told myself I'm finishing this story & "We Got Claws" before I work on any others. Hopefully I hold myself to that.** **As to story stuff, just heads up, I've decided to mostly drop Scott & Allison from my story. They'll still show up from time to time, but Scott isn't friends with Stiles so he doesn't really fit there. And I made Allison older and I don't actually want to bring her into the story very much. She doesn't fit unless I make her a bad guy and I don't want her as a bad guy. So I know I mentioned that they're both aurors (Allison is a huntress/auror) and Scott is Isaac's Auror partner so they will still be brought up by others, but don't expect to see them get any real playing time in this particular fic. I thought about forcing them into the story but that seems silly.**

* * *

Stiles flopped into a chair at the front of the class once everyone else had left. "I don't think it's the wand extension thing. Or at least not just that. Because you said last Wednesday that I'd gotten past that whole issue so obviously something is still wrong because my arm keeps turning into a waterfall. So, why is Durmstrang messing with my transfiguration spells so badly?"

"I asked Laura about it," said Derek.

"And?"

"She says it's likely because Durmstrang is built on magical ground."

"So? Hogwarts was built on magic."

"Durmstrang's magic is different. Hogwarts has wizard magic. That's it. Old and powerful, but still tied only to wizards." Derek cleaned up as he spoke, making sure the classroom was clear of any damage caused by bad transfiguration spells.

"And Durmstrang is different?" Stiles sat up, interest peaked.

Derek's mouth quirked up in a grin. "We're a land of vampires, werewolves, wizards, and endless secrets. Yes, the magic here is different. It's deeper. Older."

"And Laura think that's why my magic is so messed up?"

"Possibly," hedged Derek. "Other transfer students over the years have had problems, but I've never known someone to do what you've been doing."

"I'm a freak then." That didn't bother Stiles nearly as much as it probably should. Side effect of growing up around Potter, Malfoy, and their ilk. Freak became a relative term.

"Not necessarily," corrected Derek. "You've been trained in magic. It might me that you're inadvertently tapping into a natural source and need to learn to shut it out."

"Huh," pondered Stiles. There was the fact that he was from here, at least by lineage, but that was something to be researched for later. For now, he stood and followed Derek's direction.

They worked for an hour, with only minimal success. Derek didn't seem discouraged though, saying they'd try again tomorrow.

By the end of two weeks, Stiles had managed to stop transfiguring himself, but he'd yet to accurately complete the spell.

He was looking forward to the trip to Tromso over the weekend, hoping his friends could help Stiles figure out the problem.

Derek was pleased with his progress though, so at least that had Stiles in a decent mood.

Stiles found himself growing more comfortable around the werewolf too. They talked about Quidditch and Derek gave him some tips on how to deal with the other teachers, most of whom had very specific expectations for students. He still found Derek to be hot as hell but somehow that fact just sort of existed in a random corner of his mind, and the budding friendship took precedent.

He noticed that Derek inhaled deeply once in a while when he was close to him but Stiles just chalked it up to werewolf habits.

Stiles had been so caught up in his tutoring sessions with Derek and other homework that he didn't realize he'd barely seen his friends until they were shuffling their way into a train compartment for the trip to Tromso.

Jackson slumped into the seat next to Stiles. Lydia stretched out across from them, legs sprawled over Erica and head resting in Danny's lap.

Danny absentmindedly twisted Lydia's curls as the train began to move.

"How am I so exhausted?" complained Jackson.

"Seriously," echoed Stiles. "We may be roommates but I never see you guys anymore except for class."

"It's the Durmstrang curse," said Erica wearily.

Four pairs of eyebrows raised.

"Not a real curse," amended Erica. "Did you notice when our representatives came to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament that everyone seemed very disciplined?"

"We did," said Danny. "But it's not actually that strict here."

"Isn't it? Have you missed a homework assignment? Showed up late to class or a meal? Exited your room without your robes in perfect order?"

Stiles kind of gaped at her. "Damn. I didn't even realize it was happening."

Erica gave a rueful grin. "That's kind of the sneakiness of Durmstrang. You start adhering to expectations without even knowing there are any. Even now I bet Lydia's half listening to the corridor in case a professor walks by so she can sit up right away."

Lydia sat up anyway. "I was."

"Anyway," continued Erica, "Everyone also always ends up swamped with assignments and extra-curricular activities and life sort of exists in a bubble until a Tromso trip or holiday rolls around and you realize how much you've missed out on."

"As long as we get an actual holiday, I don't care what curses Durmstrang has," yawned Jackson. "Anything for some sleep."

The others nodded their agreement and soon after, all had drifted off to sleep as the train made its way along.

**_Lydia's Dream:_**

_The bodies are everywhere. Surrounding her, under her feet, as far as the eye could see._

_Humans, mostly, but there are wolves scattered among them._

_Lydia screams._

_She doesn't belong here. She can't belong here._

_"You have to wake me up," whispers an unfamiliar voice._

_"Wake me up."_

_Lydia tries to run._

_The bodies don't follow her but there is no escape. They're everywhere._

_"Wake me."_

_Maybe if she wakes the dead, she can wake herself._

_"Inferius," she mutters, low and determined._

_She has no wand, but it doesn't seem to matter. The bodies sit up and a few dissipate._

_"Child's play," hisses the voice again. "Wake me. I need my strength, not the meandering idiocies of the undead."_

_"No," fights Lydia._

_"Wake me!"_

_"No!"_

_"Wake me!"_

"Wake up! Lydia, wake up!" Jackson was shaking her shoulder, looking worried as she came out of the dream.

"Are you okay?" asked Erica. "You looked like you were having a really bad nightmare."

Lydia can see her friends staring at her, all except for Stiles who was still sleeping soundly. "I'm fine. Like you said, bad dream. But seriously, totally fine."

She flipped her hair to the side and dug a lip gloss out of her bag to emphasize the need for the others to drop it.

With a couple more cautious looks, her friends changed the subject and moved on.

After another twenty minutes, Stiles roused himself and joined in, helping the time pass quickly until they reached the city.

**_Stiles' Dream:_**

_His two patronuses are in front of him._

_The fox._

_The wolf._

_He snaps his wand, tries to force the choice, one shape of the other._

_The two remain._

_He tries to end the charm._

_The patronuses dissipate._

_The edges of the bluish white smoke blend with the black of the dementors surrounding him._

_He calls for the Patronus again, willing the dementors to stay away long enough to complete the charm._

_The soul sucking demons don't move._

_The fox appears._

_The wolf follows._

Professor Krum—second cousin to Viktor and no, she will not get anyone an autograph—gathers everyone together when they arrive at the school's Tromso inn.

As far as any Muggle knows, there are no trains in this part of the country, so they can't exactly stop at a normal station and blend in. Instead, the stop is underground.

Above them is their home for the next four days. As Erica explained on the way here, the school purchased a large boarding house and remodeled it into a hostel quite some time ago. When students aren't visiting, the Muggle accessible rooms are rented out like any other hostel. No bookings are taken during student trips, and the wizarding aspects are put to use.

They still have to use caution, but legends and magic are more accepted in this area of the world, so hiding magical resources in plain sight—like the folklore section of the university library—isn't given a second thought.

"Welcome to Tromso," began the Professor. "Allow me to lay down a few ground rules for those who are new, and those who could stand to hear them again. Your travel bags are being placed on your assigned beds in the dormitories. You are welcome to switch beds if desired, but each room will remain same sex only."

There are a few smirks among the students. Durmstrang has a much higher population of gay couples than Hogwarts did, so not everyone is disappointed. The teachers seem to be resigned to that fact. There's not much they can do anyway.

Professor Krum continued. "Your chaperones this weekend are myself and Professor Nilsen, Professor Hale and his auror partner Vernon Boyd, and their apprentices, Isaac Lahey and Scott McCall. I expect you to give all of our chaperones your respect and obedience, regardless of their position."

Stiles and Jackson both elbow Danny at the same time, giving him wide grins. They know he'll have a good weekend.

The rest of the instructions include reminders about when meals are scheduled, curfews, restricted areas of town, and an admonition to always travel with a friend.

Normally, the restricted part would fascinate Stiles and the rest of his friends but Isaac had already given a heads up about the areas. Apparently they were restricted due to being essentially magical hotspots that tended to mess with a wizard's wand. Fixing a wand afterwards took about two weeks. None of the students wanted to wait that long to get back to class.

Stiles followed Jackson up the stairs to the dorms. Danny lingered to talk to Isaac, while Lydia and Erica used the girls' entrance. They agreed to meet in an hour in the common area to map out the plans for the weekend.


End file.
